UTSW Research Unveils Possible Cancer Therapy Target

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that alternative splicing—a process that allows a single gene to code for multiple proteins—appears to be a new potential target for anti-telomerase cancer therapy.

The enzyme telomerase is overexpressed in almost all cancer cells, and previous research efforts have failed to identify good telomerase inhibitors. The study by Dr. Woodring Wright and UT Southwestern colleagues in the April 4 issue of Cell Reports identifies a new approach for inhibiting telomerase, which is an enzyme that drives uncontrolled division and replication of cancer cells.